Senate approves Hanford budget far above Trump proposal

The U.S. Senate passed a Hanford spending bill on Monday that would provide $2.4 billion for environmental cleanup work at the Hanford nuclear reservation. Workers are shown unloading contaminated debris into a lined landfill.
Associated Press File

Richland, WA

The U.S. Senate approved a Hanford spending bill for the next fiscal year that would provide $315 million more for the nuclear reservation than proposed by the Trump administration.

The vote was 86-5 for a package of funding bills.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed a spending bill for fiscal 2019 that would provide $247 million more for the Hanford Site than the administration's funding request.

The two bills next must be reconciled. A final version then could be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.

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The Senate bill would restore all but $25 million of the cuts to current spending that were proposed by the administration.

The total Hanford budget under the Senate plan would be $2.4 billion, plus some additional money for security at the site.

"Once again, I'm proud that Democrats and Republicans have come together to reject President Trump's senseless budget cuts and instead craft a budget that honors the sacrifices of central Washington families," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked to secure money for Hanford as the appropriations bill was being written.

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